Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting
audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid
drama, and magnificent production values. If you've decided that the
time has finally come to learn about opera and discover for yourself
what it is about opera that sends your normally reserved friends into
states of ecstatic abandon, this is the book for you.Opera 101 is
recognized as the standard text in English for anyone who wants to
become an opera lover--a clear, friendly, and truly complete handbook to
learning how to listen to opera, whether on the radio, on recordings, or
live at the opera house. Fred Plotkin, an internationally respected
writer and teacher about opera who for many years was performance
manager of the Metropolitan Opera, introduces the reader (whatever his
or her level of musical knowledge) to all the elements that make up
opera, including:
- A brief, entertaining history of opera;
- An explanation of key operatic concepts, from vocal types to musical
conventions;
- Hints on the best way to approach the first opera you attend and how
to best understand what is happening both offstage and on;
- Lists of recommended books and recordings, and the most complete
traveler's guide to opera houses around the world.
The major part of Opera 101 is devoted to an almost minute-by-minute
analysis of eleven key operas, ranging from Verdi's thunderous
masterpiece Rigoletto and Puccini's electrifying Tosca through works
by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, to
the psychological complexities of Richard Strauss's Elektra. Once you
have completed Opera 101, you will be prepared to see and hear any
opera you encounter, thanks to this book's unprecedentedly detailed and
enjoyable method of revealing the riches of opera
